Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a 10th grader at BCC. IB is a great program for the right kid. After a BCC student committed suicide, the rumor was that the IB program was at least partially responsible. My son is completely turned off though he will do lots of AP classes.

BCC probably has the widest range of economic diversity. My son has several friends (white and non white) living in $3million homes and many who get free lunch. He's mixed race and is somehow accepted by all groups though I'm not sure how/why. Works out well for him so my perspective is that the diversity there is great. Others may disagree.

The teachers are very good for the most part. One awful teacher was hired this year because of shortages I assume. That teacher will singe handedly keep kids out of science tracks they'd otherwise love. BCC should not have hired this teacher but I'm sure most schools are in the same boat.

Principals make very few decisions so don't let that be a deciding factor for high schools - it all comes from the central office. Getting a good counselor and administrator is key but there is a lot of movement so you often don't know what you are getting.

I think BCC is a good school - really big but they all are these days. Playing a sport helps them find a group so I'd recommend that if possible.

What kind of student is the IB program best for?

DP.. one who doesn't buckle under pressure, has good time management skills, and doesn't consider failure the end of the world.

More important - one who likes to read and write and can do so quickly with ease and fluency - I have a very smart BCC kid who doesn’t like to read and hates to write. The IB program would have made him want to poke his eyes out. Some BCC parents force kids to do IB because they think it is “more rigorous”. I think that is a major mistake. I would have never made my DC do something he hated. Instead he took a lot of the hardest AP math and science.

My kid graduated from BCC last year. We went to the IB informational meeting years ago and it seemed like a great way to get a small school within a big school. One of her buddies from preschool onward did it and had a great experience and is now at Yale. But it wasn’t for my kid because she has always struggled with foreign languages. She had a good BCC experience overall, took some APs but didn’t overload, and now is happy at an LAC smaller than BCC. She had a great counselor, some great teachers, only one teacher that was really not great, and obviously would have been happier without Covid taking a big chunk out of it. Would do again.

Anonymous wrote:Reading about BCC makes me want to switch my kid who is at Jackson Reed. Sounds like it is a wonderful place to learn and make friends.

+1

Jackson Reed is a good school and close to Tenley metro.

WJ and Blair are also good MCPS schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a 10th grader at BCC. IB is a great program for the right kid. After a BCC student committed suicide, the rumor was that the IB program was at least partially responsible. My son is completely turned off though he will do lots of AP classes.

BCC probably has the widest range of economic diversity. My son has several friends (white and non white) living in $3million homes and many who get free lunch. He's mixed race and is somehow accepted by all groups though I'm not sure how/why. Works out well for him so my perspective is that the diversity there is great. Others may disagree.

The teachers are very good for the most part. One awful teacher was hired this year because of shortages I assume. That teacher will singe handedly keep kids out of science tracks they'd otherwise love. BCC should not have hired this teacher but I'm sure most schools are in the same boat.

Principals make very few decisions so don't let that be a deciding factor for high schools - it all comes from the central office. Getting a good counselor and administrator is key but there is a lot of movement so you often don't know what you are getting.

I think BCC is a good school - really big but they all are these days. Playing a sport helps them find a group so I'd recommend that if possible.

What kind of student is the IB program best for?

DP.. one who doesn't buckle under pressure, has good time management skills, and doesn't consider failure the end of the world.

More important - one who likes to read and write and can do so quickly with ease and fluency - I have a very smart BCC kid who doesn’t like to read and hates to write. The IB program would have made him want to poke his eyes out. Some BCC parents force kids to do IB because they think it is “more rigorous”. I think that is a major mistake. I would have never made my DC do something he hated. Instead he took a lot of the hardest AP math and science.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a 10th grader at BCC. IB is a great program for the right kid. After a BCC student committed suicide, the rumor was that the IB program was at least partially responsible. My son is completely turned off though he will do lots of AP classes.

BCC probably has the widest range of economic diversity. My son has several friends (white and non white) living in $3million homes and many who get free lunch. He's mixed race and is somehow accepted by all groups though I'm not sure how/why. Works out well for him so my perspective is that the diversity there is great. Others may disagree.

The teachers are very good for the most part. One awful teacher was hired this year because of shortages I assume. That teacher will singe handedly keep kids out of science tracks they'd otherwise love. BCC should not have hired this teacher but I'm sure most schools are in the same boat.

Principals make very few decisions so don't let that be a deciding factor for high schools - it all comes from the central office. Getting a good counselor and administrator is key but there is a lot of movement so you often don't know what you are getting.

I think BCC is a good school - really big but they all are these days. Playing a sport helps them find a group so I'd recommend that if possible.

? by what measure?

I also find that comment interesting. As compared to a school like RM?

Re: Westland MS, I have a DC there now. Principal is excellent. Very communicative with the community. Teachers have been mixed - some really excellent, most pretty good, a couple not so strong. But I can't imagine that is different than anywhere else. Classes don't seem overcrowded to me, after the opening of Silver Lake.

Anonymous wrote:I can only share my experience: we moved to a BCC area from a W school area because we were unhappy with the culture we saw at the W school (my kids are in ES, but we were close with many families with W school kids) - we wanted a more diverse environment with a more traditional high school feel and more options for kids to set their own path. We are very very happy with the decision - the community and culture of our new neighborhood is a much better fit.

If you are suggesting that kids can have a more relaxed life there, I believe that is true.

Reading about BCC makes me want to switch my kid who is at Jackson Reed. Sounds like it is a wonderful place to learn and make friends.

One DD is at Westland, it is no longer crowded at all. Principal is great, teachers are a mixed bag.

My other DD is at BCC. She loves it but she is very involved in a lot of EC and plays sports.

She is also doing IB and I would say the type of person who does well in IB wants to be intellectually challenged, likes to work hard and push themselves, enjoys writing (there is A LOT!) and has good time management skills. My kid is taking AP classes as well.

Her group of friends is very diverse, racial, religiously and in terms of socio-economics. She hangs out in Bethesda after school a lot to study at the library or get a bite to eat. I feel like BCC being in Bethesda really fosters an independent spirit. She gets herself home on the metro or the bus, and so do her friends.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a 10th grader at BCC. IB is a great program for the right kid. After a BCC student committed suicide, the rumor was that the IB program was at least partially responsible. My son is completely turned off though he will do lots of AP classes.

BCC probably has the widest range of economic diversity. My son has several friends (white and non white) living in $3million homes and many who get free lunch. He's mixed race and is somehow accepted by all groups though I'm not sure how/why. Works out well for him so my perspective is that the diversity there is great. Others may disagree.

The teachers are very good for the most part. One awful teacher was hired this year because of shortages I assume. That teacher will singe handedly keep kids out of science tracks they'd otherwise love. BCC should not have hired this teacher but I'm sure most schools are in the same boat.

Principals make very few decisions so don't let that be a deciding factor for high schools - it all comes from the central office. Getting a good counselor and administrator is key but there is a lot of movement so you often don't know what you are getting.

I think BCC is a good school - really big but they all are these days. Playing a sport helps them find a group so I'd recommend that if possible.

What kind of student is the IB program best for?

Kids who love to write or whose parents will force them to write a lot and who may want to attend university outside the United States.

Otherwise AP is more flexible, less stressful, and more aligned with the American university system (for example, students will know many of their AP test scores by the fall of senior year whereas IB students don’t even find out if they qualify for an IB diploma until after they’ve graduated from HS, by which time most seniors will have already made plans for the fall).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a 10th grader at BCC. IB is a great program for the right kid. After a BCC student committed suicide, the rumor was that the IB program was at least partially responsible. My son is completely turned off though he will do lots of AP classes.

BCC probably has the widest range of economic diversity. My son has several friends (white and non white) living in $3million homes and many who get free lunch. He's mixed race and is somehow accepted by all groups though I'm not sure how/why. Works out well for him so my perspective is that the diversity there is great. Others may disagree.

The teachers are very good for the most part. One awful teacher was hired this year because of shortages I assume. That teacher will singe handedly keep kids out of science tracks they'd otherwise love. BCC should not have hired this teacher but I'm sure most schools are in the same boat.

Principals make very few decisions so don't let that be a deciding factor for high schools - it all comes from the central office. Getting a good counselor and administrator is key but there is a lot of movement so you often don't know what you are getting.

I think BCC is a good school - really big but they all are these days. Playing a sport helps them find a group so I'd recommend that if possible.

What kind of student is the IB program best for?

DP.. one who doesn't buckle under pressure, has good time management skills, and doesn't consider failure the end of the world.

Anonymous wrote:I have a 10th grader at BCC. IB is a great program for the right kid. After a BCC student committed suicide, the rumor was that the IB program was at least partially responsible. My son is completely turned off though he will do lots of AP classes.

BCC probably has the widest range of economic diversity. My son has several friends (white and non white) living in $3million homes and many who get free lunch. He's mixed race and is somehow accepted by all groups though I'm not sure how/why. Works out well for him so my perspective is that the diversity there is great. Others may disagree.

The teachers are very good for the most part. One awful teacher was hired this year because of shortages I assume. That teacher will singe handedly keep kids out of science tracks they'd otherwise love. BCC should not have hired this teacher but I'm sure most schools are in the same boat.

Principals make very few decisions so don't let that be a deciding factor for high schools - it all comes from the central office. Getting a good counselor and administrator is key but there is a lot of movement so you often don't know what you are getting.

I think BCC is a good school - really big but they all are these days. Playing a sport helps them find a group so I'd recommend that if possible.

? by what measure?

Anonymous wrote:I have a 10th grader at BCC. IB is a great program for the right kid. After a BCC student committed suicide, the rumor was that the IB program was at least partially responsible. My son is completely turned off though he will do lots of AP classes.

BCC probably has the widest range of economic diversity. My son has several friends (white and non white) living in $3million homes and many who get free lunch. He's mixed race and is somehow accepted by all groups though I'm not sure how/why. Works out well for him so my perspective is that the diversity there is great. Others may disagree.

The teachers are very good for the most part. One awful teacher was hired this year because of shortages I assume. That teacher will singe handedly keep kids out of science tracks they'd otherwise love. BCC should not have hired this teacher but I'm sure most schools are in the same boat.

Principals make very few decisions so don't let that be a deciding factor for high schools - it all comes from the central office. Getting a good counselor and administrator is key but there is a lot of movement so you often don't know what you are getting.

I think BCC is a good school - really big but they all are these days. Playing a sport helps them find a group so I'd recommend that if possible.

That’s tragic and awful. Why do people think it was connected to the IB program.

I’m a Whitman but the rest of what you said matches my impression of BCC. I knew a lot of kids who went there via sports and other ECs, and the BCC kids always seemed like a mixed bunch. I know it’s still a very affluent school that’s less diverse compare to MCPS as a whole, but it seems like a school where there’s something for every kid and where how much money you make or the clothes you wear doesn’t matter.

Anonymous wrote:I have a 10th grader at BCC. IB is a great program for the right kid. After a BCC student committed suicide, the rumor was that the IB program was at least partially responsible. My son is completely turned off though he will do lots of AP classes.

BCC probably has the widest range of economic diversity. My son has several friends (white and non white) living in $3million homes and many who get free lunch. He's mixed race and is somehow accepted by all groups though I'm not sure how/why. Works out well for him so my perspective is that the diversity there is great. Others may disagree.

The teachers are very good for the most part. One awful teacher was hired this year because of shortages I assume. That teacher will singe handedly keep kids out of science tracks they'd otherwise love. BCC should not have hired this teacher but I'm sure most schools are in the same boat.

Principals make very few decisions so don't let that be a deciding factor for high schools - it all comes from the central office. Getting a good counselor and administrator is key but there is a lot of movement so you often don't know what you are getting.

I think BCC is a good school - really big but they all are these days. Playing a sport helps them find a group so I'd recommend that if possible.

What kind of student is the IB program best for?

I have a 10th grader at BCC. IB is a great program for the right kid. After a BCC student committed suicide, the rumor was that the IB program was at least partially responsible. My son is completely turned off though he will do lots of AP classes.

BCC probably has the widest range of economic diversity. My son has several friends (white and non white) living in $3million homes and many who get free lunch. He's mixed race and is somehow accepted by all groups though I'm not sure how/why. Works out well for him so my perspective is that the diversity there is great. Others may disagree.

The teachers are very good for the most part. One awful teacher was hired this year because of shortages I assume. That teacher will singe handedly keep kids out of science tracks they'd otherwise love. BCC should not have hired this teacher but I'm sure most schools are in the same boat.

Principals make very few decisions so don't let that be a deciding factor for high schools - it all comes from the central office. Getting a good counselor and administrator is key but there is a lot of movement so you often don't know what you are getting.

I think BCC is a good school - really big but they all are these days. Playing a sport helps them find a group so I'd recommend that if possible.